Wounds That Won't Heal

 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: 'Here am I.'" Isaiah 58: 6-9

    Last week, I cut my finger while chopping celery. It reminded me that I should not put it below a swift blade; I dressed it with ointment and a bandage. For several days, it affected me so I altered my usual ways, making allowances for this wound to heal. It seemed high on my priority list at the time.

    Today, I looked down and saw only a faint reminder of the event. That, too, will soon fade; the whole affair forgotten. Jesus healed it and I went my way.

    But what of the inner wounds from past inflictions that never seem to be forgotten? Am I the only one who remembers them? After all, these wounds ran deep, leaving scars from acute sorrows. Some days, I proceed without a limp but other times, the memory smarts and the tears brim once again. Why can't I forget?

    In the content of the Scripture leading to the passage above, the people of Israel were half-heartedly fasting, vaguely looking for God while doing whatever they please. Then they wondered why He didn't notice and respond to their requests. "Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?" (Isaiah 58:5)

    Maybe my wounds haven't totally healed because I have only half-heartedly sought the Lord. I kept back some of my pain so I may nurse it and relive it in a morose way. Why wouldn't I want to embrace the thorough freedom Christ offers with His outstretched, wounded hands? It's time to get my mind off myself and be about His business. There are those who are bleeding before my very eyes. The battlefield is littered with casualties! "With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken." (Psalm 16:8)

"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:6